Cousin Kate and Fallen Women.

The lesson before last we were studying the idea of a 'Fallen Woman' and how it keys into another poem by Christina Rossetti - Cousin Kate. 

The first idea that sprung to mind about a 'Fallen Woman' was of a woman who had fallen into a trap or a life of immoral/evil. This is true to a slight extent as a 'Fallen Woman' is someone who has been cast aside by society and rejected, either because she has slept around or been abused by men. 

The idea of a 'Fallen Women' appears to link directly to Christina Rossetti's poem, 'Cousin Kate' - I personally preferred this poem to 'The Goblin Market' as I felt it was more significant and in many ways still applied to situations occurring in modern day times. 

Anyway, the poem 'Cousin Kate' is about a 'cottage maiden' who has been plucked from her life of innocence and normality into one of sin and shame as she slept with the Lord out of marriage. She was then dumped and cast aside by the Lord for her cousin Kate whom he saw 'along the lane' and thus leaves the speaker to be rejected by society as she is seen as an 'outcast thing' who is full of sin because she had sex out of marriage. However, despite being rejected, the speaker soon reveals that she has a 'gift' cousin Kate does not have and  shows that despite losing her innocence and acceptance in society she is no longer bitter but hopeful and grateful for the son she has and almost gloats in Kate's face as it appears a child is one gift that Kate can't take away from the speaker.

After reading the poem we were asked to consider the person speaking and who she is addressing. It appeared obvious that the speaker of the poem was a woman who had been scorned and 'fallen' and that she was addressing her cousin Kate.

We were then asked to build the persona and character of Kate and the Lord through phrases used. One of the most notable phrases used which helped build these characters persona's was 'writ in the sand' as it suggests that the Lord and Kate are fickle and that their love is not true but just a temporary thing. 

The final stanza is also useful in helping create Kate's persona as it makes her appear as materialistic as she only wants the 'wedding ring' and the status of being the wife of a Lord. 

We were then asked to consider the points of view, not just of the speaker but of others as well. The point of view of the speaker seems to change as we progress through the poem, at the start she appears to be bitter and regretful yet by the end of the poem she is proud and happy with the situation she has been presented with. (She also appears to be resilient and strong as she doesn't let other people affect her, she is in control now of her destiny, not the Lord.)

We then looked into the point of views of others in the poem, and the main point of view that came across was one from society. They saw the speaker as 'unclean thing' whereas Kate is 'good and pure' because she waited for the Lord to put a ring on her finger before having sex. 

Finally I feel the poem 'Cousin Kate' is an interesting poem to analyse as it appears to break boundaries and show new concepts and shows what is and was wrong with society.  

But quick note, I personally feel one of the most pivotal lines in the poem is ' to lead a shameless shameful life' as it shows how despite being left with nothing and being rejected by society she still saw nothing wrong in what she did and in a way shows how she isn't bitter because it suggests that without this life of shame she wouldn't have the child she has now. 

Anyway, hope it's alright and along the right lines.